2013 Vuelta a España Race Preview

2013
VUELTA A ESPAÑA RACE PREVIEW

The final weeks of summer are upon us, and that means it is
time for the third and final Grand Tour of the season. The 2013 Vuelta a España
arrives to fill up those last weeks of summer with the promise of 21 stages of
thrilling racing filled with mountains, mountains, mountains. The route of this
68th edition of the race is similar to last year’s, with plenty of
uphill finishes for the climbers, and just one individual time trial of 38k—and
it includes some climbing.

The Pro Tour’s top climbers will come out to try and
capitalize on the favorable parcours.
This is not a race like the Tour de France, where excellent time trial skills
are required for GC contenders. This tour favors pure climbers. Along the 3359-kilometer
route the riders will travel counter-clockwise around Spain from Galicia to
Madrid. Forays into Andorra and France will showcase some of the challenging
mountains the riders must conquer.

Of course, Philippe Gilbert will be on hand hunting a stage
win or two. He is one of several Classics-type riders who will like the punchy,
short uphill finishes that winnow out the flat sprinters. Look for the likes of
Grega Bole, Bartosz Huzarski, Thomas De Gendt, Simon Gerrans, Zdenek Stybar,
Angel Vicioso, Anthony Roux, Maxim Iglinskiy, Luis Leon Sanchez, Andrey Grivko,
Rinaldo Nocentini and Domenico Pozzovivo-among many others--to go hunting for
stage wins.

Some riders will be focused on reaching top form for the
World Championship races in September. Don’t be surprised if a few of the GC
candidates, time trial specialists, sprinters and strong one-day racers seem to
underperform, or drop out before Madrid. The Vuelta is not everybody’s primary
goal.

THE
ROUTE:

In an effort to cover more areas of the country (last year’s
edition stayed primarily in northern Spain), the race organizers have had to
include some long transfers for the participants. The two rest days will bring
some relief after stages 10 and 16--the latter coming after three difficult
stages in the Pyrenees.

The race begins with the 27.4k team time trial, which should
establish some GC time splits right off the bat. Stage 2 features the first mountaintop
finish on the category-1 Monte da Groba, so the overall contenders will need to
come to the race already in good form. As usual, the toughest stages are saved for
the final week, before the final bunch sprint into Madrid.

On paper, stages 14 and 15 look like the hardest of the
race, but the penultimate stage finishes atop the brutal “Beast of Asturias”,
the notoriously steep Angliru, and it could prove to be decisive.

13 mountain stages are listed in the official guide. Twelve
are uphill finales.

I see nine mountaintop finishes, and three or four smaller
uphill finishes.

Six or seven stages are left for the sprinters.

A few stages may be won by breakaways, but among them I
would guess that stages 9 and 19 offer the best chances for a successful
escape.

The uphill finishes are:

•
August 25, 2013

Stage
2 – Pontevedra – Baiona. Alto do Monte da Groba

•
August 26, 2013

Stage
3 – Vigo – Mirador de Lobeira / Vilagarcía de Arousa

•
August 31, 2013

Stage
8 - Jerez de la Frontera - Estepona. Alto de Peñas

Blancas

•
September 1, 2013

Stage
9 – Antequera – Valdepeñas de Jaén

•
September 2, 2013

Stage
10 –Torredelcampo – Güéjar Sierra. Alto de Hazallanas

•
September 7, 2013

Stage
14 – Bagà - Andorra. Collada de la Gallina

•
September 8, 2013

Stage
15 – Andorra – Peyragudes

•
September 9, 2013

Stage
16 - Graus – Sallent de Gállego. Aramón Formigal

•
September 12, 2013

Stage
18 - Burgos - Peña Cabarga

•
September 13, 2013

Stage
19 - San Vicente de la Barquera - Oviedo. Alto del

Naranco

•
September 14, 2013

Stage
20 - Avilés - Alto de L’Angliru

Some of the tougher stage profiles:

Stage 10

Stage 14

Stage 15

Stage 20

SPECIFICS:

The Jerseys

Time Bonuses are available at the finish lines on all stages
except for the two time trials. The time bonuses are 10, 6, and 4 seconds
respectively, for the first three stage finishers. Time bonuses are also given
out at the intermediate sprint points: 3, 2, and 1-second bonuses for first
through third.